Page 9 - IRANRptSep21

2.4 Iran’s Raisi says US ‘military defeat’ in Afghanistan presents chance for lasting peace
As Taliban regime takes shape, Central Asia and Iran assess fate of Afghanistan investments
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on August 16 that the United States' "military failure" in Afghanistan presented a chance to create a lasting peace in the country.
Tehran’s standpoint on Afghanistan is that the country requires an inclusive Afghan government that would embrace all ethnic groups and sects. Towards four fifths of Afghanistan’s population speak Dari (Farsi or Afghan Persian). "America's military defeat and its withdrawal must become an opportunity to restore life, security and durable peace in Afghanistan," Iranian state TV quoted Raisi as saying.
"Iran backs efforts to restore stability in Afghanistan and, as a neighbouring and brother nation, Iran invites all groups in Afghanistan to reach a national agreement."
Shi’ite Muslim Iran has been a foe of the fundamentalist Sunni Muslim Taliban for decades, but in recent years it has been openly meeting Taliban leaders. In July, then Afghan government representatives and a high-level Taliban political committee met in Tehran.
Despite the enmity that has marked Iran’s position on the Taliban, Washington has in the past accused Iran of providing covert aid to Taliban fighters against US forces.
Iran said on August 15 that it had prepared temporary accommodation in three provinces to provide refuge to Afghans fleeing their country. However, it has advised refugees that they will be expected to return to their homeland when the situation stabilises.
There are more than 2mn undocumented and over 800,000 registered Afghan refugees in the Islamic Republic.
The new hard reality in Afghanistan, with the country back under Taliban rule after 20 years, will prompt neighbouring nations including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Iran to rapidly reassess the prospects of investment projects that essentially depend on Kabul’s support and cooperation.
Once Donald Trump got cracking with his campaign to strangle Iran’s economy, it became rare to find any big Iranian investment projects not struggling against US sanctions, but one project that has enjoyed a sanctions-free emergence is the development of Iran’s only oceanic port, Chabahar on the Sea of Oman.
The Chabahar project, being jointly delivered by Iran and India, was seen as so important to Afghanistan’s economic prospects that US officials decided to leave it alone. Its Pakistani rival, Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, a short distance from Chabahar, is being jointly developed by Islamabad and China. The objective with Chabahar is to give India an export gateway for Afghanistan and Central Asia and the Central Asian ‘Stans’ an export hub for sending
9 IRAN Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com